Caroline County introduces property‑maintenance and open‑air burning bills; public hearings scheduled

At a legislative session on April 14, the Caroline County commissioners introduced two related bills addressing property maintenance and open‑air burning.

Mister Burrell presented Legislative Bill 2026‑4, which would create a new county code chapter on property maintenance, rubbish and garbage. The bill defines “garbage” as food waste from handling, preparation and consumption and defines “rubbish” to include combustible and noncombustible materials such as paper, wood products and treated lumber; the definition explicitly excludes natural vegetative materials such as branches and leaves.

Staff noted revisions made after a workshop: an explicit exclusion for natural vegetative materials, a limit of a 10‑calendar‑day extension for corrective action, and that a repeat violation would be assessed within a three‑calendar‑year window. The commission accepted the bill as first reading and moved it forward on the legislative calendar.

A companion bill, Legislative Bill 2026‑005, would create chapter 124 to prohibit open‑air burning of rubbish and garbage, authorize the commissioners to adopt an open‑air burning ban during drought‑related conditions on the recommendation of the county director of emergency services, provide public‑notice and notice‑publication requirements beyond the ordinary schedule for fire‑code provisions, and permit right of entry to extinguish fires started in violation of a burning ban. Staff described an adjusted publication schedule that delays third reading so the companion bill can be published and enacted in concert; the anticipated effective date for both bills is June 27 if enacted.

County staff said the bills will be advertised in the Star Democrat; the public hearing and second reading were scheduled for April 21 and the third reading and potential enactment for May 12 (with additional publication steps for the fire‑code matter that continue into June).